Dry-Roasted Peanuts More Likely to Trigger Allergy

New research suggests that the process of dry-roasting peanuts — and not the nuts themselves — may account for allergic reactions in so many Americans, Medical News Today reports.

In a study published in the journal Allergy and Clinical Immunology, British health specialists noted peanut allergies are more common in Western nations than Easterners, despite the fact that there are virtually no differences in consumption levels. But East Asians tend to eat more raw, boiled and fried peanuts, whereas Westerners tend to eat more dry-roasted peanuts.

In experiments involving mice, the researchers from Oxford University found roasted peanuts were more likely to trigger an allergy to peanuts than raw peanuts — a finding that suggests dry-roasting produces chemicals that sensitize the immune system to both dry roasted and raw peanuts.

Allergy to peanut and tree nuts is the most common food allergy, affecting about one in 50 young children. Most allergic reactions are mild, but some can be severe and can lead to life-threatening asthma-like reactions.

"Allergies in people are driven by multiple factors including family genetic background and exposure to environmental triggers,” said researcher Amin Moghaddam, M.D., a senior postdoctoral research scientist at Oxford University. “In the case of peanut allergy, we think we may have discovered an environmental trigger in the way that peanuts are processed by high-temperature roasting."

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